1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to painting equipment. More particularly, and not by way of limitation, the present invention is directed to a removable, reusable one-piece device for masking a door hinge to prevent paint from getting on the hinge while the door and/or door frame are being painted.
2. Description of Related Art
Many doors and door frames are painted. While they are being painted, it is important, both for appearance and function, to keep paint from getting on the door hinges. In the past, painters have painstakingly masked the hinges with masking tape that must be cut with a knife to conform to the edges of the mounting plates of each hinge. If the door is then opened or closed, the tape is torn or pulled into the slits between each portion of the barrel of the hinge, where it is extremely difficult to remove. If the tape is not properly removed, it creates a poor appearance and may cause the hinge to function improperly. In some cases, the door must be taken off the hinges to properly clean out the tape.
Although there are no known prior art teachings of an apparatus or system such as that disclosed herein, a prior art reference that discusses subject matterthat bears some relation to matters discussed herein is U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2002/0178543 to Emerson et al. (Emerson). Emerson discloses a door hinge mask. The mask includes two parts which cover the door hinge. However, Emerson suffers from the disadvantage of utilizing two pieces which increases the difficulty in affixing the mask to the door hinge and increases the likelihood of losing one of the parts of the mask.
In order to overcome the disadvantage of existing solutions, it would be advantageous to have a removable, reusable device for masking a door hinge to prevent paint from getting on the hinge while the door and/or door frame are being painted. The present invention provides such a device.
In one aspect, the present invention is a removable device for masking a door hinge to prevent paint from covering the hinge during painting operations. The hinge includes an interior section having first and second sheets. The first sheet and the second sheet are each sized and shaped to fit upon a first hinge plate and a second hinge plate of an interior portion of the door hinge. The first sheet and the second sheet each are removably attached to each corresponding hinge plate of the door hinge. The first sheet is attached to the second sheet by a flexible strip sized and shaped to cover the interior portion of a barrel of the door hinge. The device also includes an exterior section having covering strip sized and shaped to cover an exterior portion of the barrel. The exterior section is attached to the interior section. The exterior section is removably attached to the exterior portion of the hinge. The interior section covers the interior portion of the hinge and the exterior section covers the exterior portion of the door hinge to prevent paint from adhering to the door hinge during painting operations.
In another aspect, the present invention is a removable device for masking a door hinge to prevent paint from covering the hinge during painting operations. The device includes an interior section having a first magnetic sheet and a second magnetic sheet. Each sheet is sized and shaped to fit upon a first hinge plate and a second hinge plate of an interior portion of the door hinge. The first sheet is attached to the second sheet by a flexible strip sized and shaped to cover the interior portion of a barrel of the door hinge. The device also includes an exterior section which has a covering strip sized and shaped to cover an exterior portion of the barrel. The exterior section has a first magnetic strip on a first side of the covering strip and a second magnetic strip on an opposite second side of the covering strip. The first magnetic strip is attached to a first side of the exterior portion of the barrel and the second magnetic strip is attached to a second opposite side of the exterior portion of the barrel. The exterior section is connected to the interior section. The interior section covers the interior portion of the hinge and the exterior section covers the exterior portion of the door hinge to prevent paint from adhering to the door hinge during painting operations.